Whelping Box Ideas??

[BCBeagles]

Any of you all had any success building any nice whelping boxes that seemed to hold up over time. My kennels are covered and would like to
build a nice one. How have any of you put in the hograil I here mentioned to keep puppies from getting laid on?? Any suggestions would be much
appreciated. I have a month and a half to get one built, but also plan on raising some pups in the future and would like to have a nice one. Thanks much!!

[eddywilliams]

for the hograil you can measure the inside of your box ,then get you some pvc pipe and put it together using 90's for the corners and a tee which will giveit a lil height

[BCBeagles]

Thanks, I may just add that to one of my large boxes cause my wife may kill me if I spend any more money on these dogs!

[xdawg2]

Hog Rails..

Here is what i did....

I used rebar and drilled holes to run it threw... Rebar is indestructible.... works great...

Jack

[Bunnyblaster]

for the hograil you can measure the inside of your box ,then get you some pvc pipe and put it together using 90's for the corners and a tee which will giveit a lil height

A buddy of mine showed me this and it works good for both of us.

[cris axtell/coal hill ken]

i use small plastic swiming pools from wall-mart. they work very well and are easy to keep clean. about 6$. i never had a problem with the dam laying on a pup.

[PLATEAUBEAGLER]

im like BC and i am interested in making a good warm, easy to clean whelping box with runner for mom, i do my hog rail in pvc which works good but this is my first winter litter and i would like to see all these pups make it.
What is a good size? how can u add a heating pad to the floor without the dam or pups chewing it up? how high should i make the door and how big? Access door for cleaning? I am wanting to put a heat lamp inside also. any help or pics would be great.

[TC]

im like BC and i am interested in making a good warm, easy to clean whelping box with runner for mom, i do my hog rail in pvc which works good but this is my first winter litter and i would like to see all these pups make it.
What is a good size? how can u add a heating pad to the floor without the dam or pups chewing it up? how high should i make the door and how big? Access door for cleaning? I am wanting to put a heat lamp inside also. any help or pics would be great.

A good size is big enough for mom to get away from the pups or move out of the heat, but small enough that she don't use it as a bathroom. For a heating pad you can get solid pads at pet smart that are thermostatically controlled sold separate. They work really nice. I have a small shed with whelping boxes built in, I put in a partition so the cold air from the doggy door don't get in to the pups, putting a nice layer of straw. I use a 60 what light with shield set up so when gets colder I can lower the light and if gets warmer I raise the light. If pups are cold they pile up under the light and if to warm they separate and migrate away from the light. The shed is insulated and I have an electric heater running so it stays an even temp. I try to keep it about 70 degrees in there. I like the straw for whelping because it soaks up all the fluids and you can pull it out and put in fresh as needed. It keeps the moisture away from their bodies as well. I put a lip on the barrier about 6 t 8 inches high so that they don't get rooted out to the other side of the dog box where the dog door is. Main thing is keeping the floor of the brooder warm for you will loose a pup quick laying on a cold surface, another reason I use straw. Also when I have a heavy layer of straw the mom digs a hole in it and keeps them in a nest and I haven't lost a pup yet to getting mashed, knock on wood.

I have used swimming pools too, and they work great as well. I also have made a open box frame with plywood approx 3ft X 3 ft, sides are about 12" tall out of plywood, I just screwed it all together with 2X4 beams on the inside then line floor with garbage bags, then put a heavy dog blanket found at Sams Club or Cost Co for 12.00 then set the wood frame on top of all that. This or the swimming pool works real good for in the house whelping or in open shed whelping where you need to assist. Or at least for me is what works well.

[PLATEAUBEAGLER]

Thanks TC that's a lot of help.I don't have a total enclosure except a large dog house with hog railing in it so thats why i was asking all the questions. My female will be in a pen with a a roof and a concrete pad other than a dog house with a heat lamp and straw in it this is all i have to put them in, so i'm needing all the advise i can get cause they are due the 6th of feb and it will be pretty cold around here this time of the year, and i really like to see all these pups make it because it's a really good cross. My dam is out of Soups Superman and the Sire is out of Syris.
I have done this cross before and had great results out of all the pups that survived.i lost 2 during whelping and 2 to cars, the other i sold at 8months old to a guy for big money and he still has him and won't sell him for love or money.
So any other help would be great.

Thanks

[spurs73]

Here is one I built last year.



A fan for those hot summer days at one end.



A flip down door on end of box.....this helps when giving wormer or vaccines to puppies.



It has a 2 inch pvc pipe around edge to keep the momma dog from smushing pups.



A thermometer to monitor temperature inside the box.



And a light to help keep them warm.



It also has a door on the side of pen for cleaning out and feeding axcess.

[PLATEAUBEAGLER]

Thanks i really like that and thats what i had in mind.except totally in enclosed this time of the year. Whats the size if the hole pen and the whelping box?

[spurs73]

The whole pen is 10 feet long x 4 feet wide. The whelping box is 3 x 4 and the outside pen is 7 x 4.

[spurs73]

It also has a door inside the pen to whelping box so I can close the momma dog out and work on puppies from end of whelping box. This helps me keep her out of my way. I also can put her in there while I am washing out the pen.

[PLATEAUBEAGLER]

Thats a good idea but i may have to make mine a little more enclosed cause it will be pretty cold in Feb when the pups come. Does that bulb keep there bellies warm enough to keep them alive? i was thinking about a heating pad? but i heard you could use straw? but they had to be moving around pretty good before you do that? Just don't have the space to keep them inside anymore sense i moved so i am doing what i can to keep them warm enough. Like i said most of my litters have been spring and summer litters and only had 1 litter then but i had a warm basement to put them in then, but i lost all but 2 out of the 8 then.

[spurs73]

You can put a higher watt bulb in there to make it warmer. You just have to pay close attention to temp. Pups need it about 90 degrees in there the first week. You can even put a heater (which is what I did but not shown in the pics) with a thermostat on it to control temp. Winter is a hard time to raise pups, if your power goes off your pretty much screwed unless you can move them inside. If I build another one I am going to put a heat pad under the plywood floor between two pieces of plywood.